The nearly completed Ernie Davis Hall was dedicated Friday morning, and ‘groundbreaking’ was the theme of the ceremony held on the lawn outside the nine-story building.

Ernie Davis, described as a barrier-breaker and a man who seized an opportunity and ran with it, was honored in a celebration of the opening of Syracuse University’s first new dormitory in 40 years.

‘Whether it was his explosive presence on the field or his inspirational presence off the field, we still feel Ernie’s spirit and determination and dignity today when we reflect on all that he did,’ said Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

Also present at the dedication were local politicians who confessed to sneaking into Archbold Stadium to watch Davis play, the Davis family and Don MacPherson, a former SU quarterback. MacPherson said that it was Davis who paved the way for his own success.

‘I was not a groundbreaker,’ MacPherson said, his eyes beginning to glisten. ‘Ernie Davis was a groundbreaker… I was just fortunate to come behind those men who blazed that trail.’

MacPherson received a George Arents Award for distinguished SU alumni Friday night.

Ernie Davis confronted racism head-on as the star of SU’s football team during the late 1950s, an obstacle MacPherson said still exists.

‘He broke a lot of barriers,’ said Idriss Njike, the dormitory’s first resident director and a 2009 graduate from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. ‘Now I’m able, as a black man, to be the first resident director.’

Following the speeches, Njike, wearing a vintage-style No. 44 sweater, was ceremoniously handed a football signed for the occasion by Marion Summers, Davis’s aunt. Njike jokingly jogged away with it clutched under his arm and into the building.

‘We try our best to keep the legacy,’ Njike said

The dedication took place a day after it was announced that the Carrier Dome’s football field will be named Ernie Davis Legends Field.

‘It leaves me speechless,’ Summers said of her nephew’s legacy and the naming of the field. ‘I really don’t have any words to convey that gratitude.’

Also in attendance were members of Davis’s national championship-winning 1959 football team.

‘I didn’t know him well, but everyone I played with – all of my teammates – said he was the best person they ever met,’ said Tom Stephens, who wore the esteemed 44 jersey in 1957 and 1958, between Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. He was a senior when Davis was a freshman.

To further commemorate Davis’ memory, the second floor entrance of Ernie Davis Hall was decorated for the reception that followed Friday’s dedication. Orange and blue columns, a timeline outlining Davis’s life and a flat-screen TV playing ‘The Express,’ the 2008 film based on the story of his rise to football stardom, welcomed spectators into the building.

Thomas Wolfe, vice president and dean of Student Affairs, spoke of his hopes for the new dormitory.

‘Not only is Ernie Davis Hall a place where students will live, learn and grow, it is a reminder of the legendary presence of Ernie and how his legacy lives with us,’ he said.

bmdavies@syr.edu

Published on October 4, 2009 at 12:00 pm